


Those Three Words

by JoMo3



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Mike Wheeler Loves Eleven | Jane Hopper
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-13
Updated: 2019-07-13
Packaged: 2020-06-27 10:56:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19789450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoMo3/pseuds/JoMo3
Summary: Thanksgiving comes, and Mike and El are excited to see each other again. Will Mike finally be able to tell her how he feels?





	Those Three Words

**Author's Note:**

> This was not supposed to be this long lol. Still trying to get over season 3, so this came about.

_A week ago-_

_“El, do you copy? It’s Mike.”_

_Static for a minute before he heard “Mike! I’m here. I’m...I copy!”_

_Mike felt his heart beat faster and a smile come to his lips at the sound of Eleven’s voice, sounding quite out of breath. “Is everything alright?”_

_“Yeah,” a pause, then “I just...I was eating dinner.”_

_“Oh. Anything good?”_

_“No,” she answered, and he could tell she was smiling. “We had peas again.”_

_Mike chuckled. “That’s, like, three nights in a row now, isn’t it?”_

_“Yes,” she said, laughing with him._

_“Doesn’t Mrs. Byers make anything else?” He could hear her giggling, and his own laughter intensified, too._

_He was sitting atop the highest peak in Hawkins, radio next to him as he chatted via Cerebro. The sun was setting and it was a bit colder than he thought it’d be, but he didn’t mind._

_After they’d composed themselves, he said “I miss you.”_

_“I miss you too.”_

_“How was school today?”_

_“It was good. But…”_

_“But what?”_

_“I have to read a book I don’t want to.”_

_Mike smiled. “Yeah, that’s what most of high school is, El. Reading stuff you don’t want to. Which book is it?”_

_“Um…” he heard her shuffling for the book. “Little Women.”_

_“Oh.”_

_“Have you read it?”_

_“No, but we have to read Lord of the Flies.”_

_“Is it about flies?”_

_“No, it’s about these kids stuck on an island and stuff. It’s not bad so far.”_

_“Oh. My book is...bad so far.”_

_Mike smiled. “Well, I think Nancy’s read it, maybe she can tell you about it when we come see you next week.”_

_He heard her breath into the walkie. “I’d like that.” There was another pause before El asked “How was school for you?”_

_“Oh...well, not too bad, I guess. Me and Lucas got to be partners in a science experiment today. It was pretty cool. I still miss having Mr. Clark, though. Oh! I got an A on my algebra test.”_

_“That’s great, Mike. I...hold on.” He heard El talking to someone before she came back. “Mike, I have to go. I have to do dishes.”_

_“Oh. Okay. Well...I’ll call you this weekend?”_

_“Okay.”_

_“Um...and El?”_

_“Yes?”_

_He paused, trying to muster up the courage to say it. After shaking his head, he said “I can’t wait to see you.”_

_“Me too, Mike. Over and out.”_

_Mike put down the walkie and sighed. “I love you,” he whispered to himself. He tossed the Supercom into his backpack and, after strapping it onto his back, made his way down the hill and towards his home._

The Wheeler station wagon made its way down I-69, taking the two oldest Wheeler children towards Bloomington, IN; the new home of the Byers family. It was now going on nearly three hours since they’d left Hawkins, and Mike’s impatience was beginning to become obviously apparent to his sister.

“Are you sure you’re going the right way?” Mike asked, looking out at the passing homes.

“Yes, Mike. Calm down, okay?” Nancy answered.

“But, I mean...shouldn’t we be there by now?”

“It’s coming up,” Nancy said, pointing to the green highway sign, reading _Bloomington Exit 5_. “See? We’re almost there,” Nancy continued.

Mike sighed, and put his head against his headrest.

“Hey,” Nancy told him, “I want to see Jonathan, too. Relax.”

It was Thanksgiving, and the two of them had left home after an early and quick breakfast, then down the interstate towards their destination. It was the first time for Mike, the second for Nancy; she’d gone down for a visit the weekend after Halloween. Unfortunately, Mike had been sick and couldn’t make it that time.

This time, though, sick or not, he knew he was going to make the trip. He hadn’t seen Eleven for 54 days now, and if he didn’t see her soon he thought he just might explode. He missed Will, too, of course, and looked forward to seeing his friend (he’d even brought his D & D notebook) but it was knowing that today was the day he’d see El that had him out of bed bright and early this morning, waking up Nancy and eating his breakfast in record time. 

He also felt the butterflies in his stomach at the nerves. Nerves at the anticipation of seeing his girlfriend, but also because he knew, today was the day:

He was _finally_ going to tell El that he loved her.

After not being able to say it at Big Buy when they were alone, stitching her up; then _again_ after not being able to say it when she’d said it on her moving day, he knew that it was going to happen today. Today was the day.

“Are you nervous?” Nancy asked, snapping him from his thoughts.

“No. Why would I be nervous?”

“I don’t know, seeing El after all this time.” She grinned. “You know you’re gonna have to keep her door open.”

“Nancy…” he said, shaking his head.

“And don’t just spend the whole day with El. Will wants to see you, too.”

“I know, I know,” he responded.

“I’m just saying…”

A moment later the exit came up, and Mike felt his heart beat faster as they got off the highway. Nancy made a left, and they began the drive down a street called Gourley Pike.

“How far is it?” Mike asked.

“Not much farther,” Nancy answered, eyes on the road.

Mike took in the town as he watched things pass by his window; buildings, parks, businesses. It wasn’t too much different from Hawkins; just bigger and cleaner. From their conversations, both El and Will said it wasn’t too bad of a city. Even Jonathan, who’d been the biggest skeptic, had come around, Nancy said.

It wasn’t Hawkins, Mike thought to himself. But maybe that was a good thing.

After a few turns, Nancy pulled the family car in front of a small house. Immediately, Mike recognized Mrs. Byers’ car; he didn’t see Jonathan’s.

“Is...is this it?” Mike asked his sister.

Nancy gave him a look. “No, I just pulled in front of some random person’s house. Yeah, Mike,” she said, rolling her eyes. “This is it.”

They climbed out of the car, with Nancy grabbing the pecan pie from the back seat. Once again Mike felt his heart beating faster as they got to the door. Nancy knocked, and after hearing approaching footsteps, the door was opened by Will Byers himself.

“You made it,” he said with a smile, stepping aside so the two could enter the house. The Wheeler children stepped inside, Mike looking around while Nancy waited, wondering where to take the pie. When Will closed the door, he and Mike greeted each other with a hug.

“My mom’s in the kitchen,” Will told them, glancing at the pie. “We can take it in there.”

“Is Jonathan here?” Nancy asked as they made their way to the kitchen.

“No, he went to the store about twenty minutes ago to pick something up,” Will answered. Looking to Mike, he added “El went with him.”

“Oh.”

“They probably thought they’d be back by now.”

The trio entered the kitchen, where Joyce Byers was peering into the oven. “Mom?” Will called, getting her attention. Joyce looked over her shoulder and smiled as she saw who was here.

“Hi,” she said, standing and wiping her hands on the apron around her waist. She made her way over and hugged the two guests. “The drive was okay?” she asked Nancy.

“Yeah. Thankfully I remembered the exit this time,” she answered.

Joyce smiled, taking the pie from her. Looking at the younger Wheeler sibling, she asked “And how are you, Mike?”

“I’m good,” he answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

Joyce smiled knowingly. “Dinner won’t be ready for another couple of hours. Will, maybe you want to show Mike your room?”

Her son nodded, and the two boys left the kitchen.

“Are you guys staying the night?” Will asked his friend as they made their way down another small hallway.

“I don’t know,” Mike answered. “Nancy said it depends on how late we’re here. I think she’s hoping we do, though.”

“Hm. I bet you are, too, huh?”

Mike didn’t respond; Will knew him too well.

After a brief walk they went to the bedroom at the end of the hallway. Will opened the door and Mike followed inside. Will’s room didn’t look too much different from it’s Hawkins counterpart, except there were a couple of more pictures of the Party. “It’s nice,” Mike said, taking a seat on the bed.

“I’m still trying to put stuff up,” Will admitted. “It’s a little bit smaller than my old room, though.”

“It’s not too bad,” Mike told him. “I brought my D & D notebook with me, if you wanted to do a campaign. You still have your board?”

“Yeah, I’ve got it,” Will said. “But who else can we get to play?”

“I don’t know. I thought maybe we could ask El.”

“Yeah, sure,” Will said.

The two boys spent the next ten minutes or so catching up; Will told Mike more about the new friends he’d made at school, while Mike caught Will up on the happenings of Hawkins, as well as how the rest of the Party was doing.

Just as Mike had finished telling Will about one of Dustin and Steve’s recent antics, they heard footsteps coming down the hall quickly. Nancy poked her head in. “Mike? They’re back.”

She turned and left, and Mike looked at Will; anxious to go and see his girlfriend, but not wanting to abandon his friend.

But Will waved him off. “Go,” he said. “Or she’ll be mad at me all weekend.”

The two boys stood and made their way to the front of the house, just as Jonathan came in with a bag of groceries, and Eleven holding a bottle of sparkling cider.

“Mike,” she said, stopping in her tracks as her eyes met his.

“Hi, El,” he said, trying to act nonchalant but knowing he was failing. He wasn’t sure who moved first, but within seconds they had met each other in the middle of the room, wrapping each other in a hug so tight that Nancy came and took the bottle from El, afraid it was going to crack.

El sniffled into Mike’s shirt, laughing and crying at seeing him again. Mike, meanwhile, was trying to hold it together, but the tears he felt stinging his eyes let him know that he was, once again, failing.

They parted, with El cupping his cheeks and kissing him as Mike kept his hands on her waist, kissing her back. “You’re here,” she whispered.

“Yeah,” he whispered back. “I’m here.”

It suddenly dawned on them that they weren’t alone, and they became self-conscious as they held hands, averting their eyes from the rest of the house.

“Um,” Jonathan said, grinning next to Nancy. “I’m gonna go put this bag in the kitchen.” He walked off, with Nancy right behind him. “Good to see you, Mike,” Jonathan called over his shoulder.

“Um...yeah, you too,” Mike mumbled back.

Both El and Mike looked at Will, who was also smiling. “I’m gonna go help with the groceries,” he said before he, too, walked off.

El turned to Mike. “Do you want to see my room?”

“Yeah, sure,” he replied.

El pulled him down the hallway towards her bedroom as Mike smiled.

_Sunday-_

_“El? Do you copy? It’s Mike.”_

_Eleven was sitting on her bed, hugging her teddy bear when she heard the call. Dropping the bear against a pillow, she scooped up the walkie. “Mike? I copy.”_

_“Hey,” he said, and she could tell he was smiling._

_She smiled as well. “Hi.”_

_“How are you today? How was your weekend?”_

_“It was good,” she answered. “I read some of the book. It’s still not good.” Mike let out a laugh, which got El giggling as well. “How’s the fly book?”_

_“Uh, it’s getting better, actually. I’m about halfway through, and I’m really curious to see how they’re going to get off this island.”_

_“How did they get there in the first place?”_

_“They were on a plane, and it crashed.”_

_“Oh. Have you ever been on a plane?”_

_“Once, when I was, like, seven.” There was a brief pause, before he said “Maybe one day, we can take a trip somewhere. Maybe we could go to California or something; or New York.”_

_El smiled. “Hop used to live in New York. He liked it there.”_

_“Well, maybe you and I could visit it one day.”_

_“Okay.” Another small pause before El asked “What did you do this weekend?”_

_“Uh, let’s see. We had wanted to go to the movies, but there’s not really anything out right now. So we just got a bunch of movies and watched them in my basement yesterday.” He chuckled softly. “It’s not the same, with you and Will gone.”_

_“Why?”_

_“Well, it’s just...different, you know? Dustin is with Steve half the time, and Lucas and Max go off and do things, too. And I’m just...by myself sometimes.”_

_“Oh.”_

_“Usually I could hang out with Will, or go and see you.”_

_She nodded. “I want to come see you, too.”_

_“Yeah, well...at least we have Thursday, right?”_

_El perked up. “Right.”_

_“I can’t wait to see you, El.”_

_She sighed. “I can’t wait either, Mike.”_

_Another brief pause, before Mike asked her what else she’d done over the weekend._

_However, their conversation eventually came to a close; El knew Mike had to be home soon and El herself had an assignment to finish._

_“Well,” Mike said when they both knew it was time to wrap things up, “I’ll call you in a few days, alright? Wednesday?”_

_“Okay,” she said, frowning at having to get off the walkie._

_“Um…” he began. And for a minute, El wondered if he was going to say it this time. Their last few conversations had ended as if Mike was going to tell her something-I love you? Ever since she had said it to him, she was waiting for him to admit it, too. She knew, without a doubt, that he felt it; why couldn’t he *say* it?_

_“El?” he asked._

_“Yes?” she asked, heart beating fast._

_“Um...have a good day at school tomorrow.”_

_She smiled, though somewhat disappointed. “You, too.”_

_“Bye.”_

_“Bye.”_

_She clicked off her walkie and picked the teddy bear back up. Maybe next time…_

As El’s door closed behind them, Mike almost felt as if he needed to pinch himself. _They were together again._

“El,” he began, turning to her, but before he could get any more words out her lips were on his, and he suddenly forgot what he was going to say.

They sat on her bed with El holding his face as they kissed, Mike smiling and holding her hips as he returned the favor.

Finally pausing after nearly a minute, El pulled away and giggled softly. “Hi.”

“Hi,” he said, grinning goofily.

“I missed you,” she told him.

“I missed you, too.”

They kissed once more before parting, still holding hands as they turned to face one another. For a brief couple of seconds, neither one of them spoke, as they just looked at each other, so happy that they were actually in the same room again. Finally, though, Eleven broke the silence. “I didn’t think you would be here yet,” she explained, referring to her absence when he’d arrived.

“What? Oh,” Mike said, shaking his head. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Long line.”

“What?”

“The store. It had a long line.”

“Oh. Well, it is Thanksgiving,” Mike said with a shrug. “I’m surprised they were even open.”

She smiled.

“Your room is nice,” Mike said, looking around them. Similar to Will’s, El’s room wasn’t too different than her old one back at the cabin. It looked, for lack of a better term, “girlier” than the one she’d had back home. He couldn’t help but notice the two small picture frames on her nightstand; one of Hopper and one of himself.

“Thanks.” She frowned for a second. “It still...doesn’t feel like home.”

Mike nodded in understanding. “Well, it has only been like a month, right? Eventually it will.”

Eleven nodded, looking down. Glancing back up, she asked “Are you going to stay? Sleepover?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Nancy said it depends on how late we’re here. I know my mom wants us back, though, so Nancy might try to leave after dinner.”

There was a sudden knock at the door, surprising both of them. “Mom said to keep the door open,” came Will’s voice.

Eleven sighed, standing up and opening the door a crack before she rejoined Mike on the bed.

“I brought some games,” he said. “Uno, and Chinese Checkers, if you want to play. And Dungeons & Dragons, too. I know you don’t really like it, but I thought Will might want to play, so…”

“I’ll play,” she said, taking his hand again.

Mike smiled. “Oh! And Max wanted me to give you something. Hold on.” He jumped off the bed and ran out of the room, coming back a few minutes later with his backpack. Taking his place across from her once more, he opened it up and pulled out it’s contents: the games he’d mentioned, his notebook, and finally, a yellow beret. “Max said you’d know what it is,” Mike said, handing it over to El.

El started laughing, putting a hand to her mouth as she did so. With the other hand she took the beret.

“What’s so funny?” Mike asked.

El gave him a quick recap of her shopping trip with Max over the summer before she put the beret on top of her head. “How do I look?” she asked him.

Mike smirked, before reaching over and tilting the hat just so. “You look so awesome,” he told her. “You look French.”

“French?”

“Yeah, they wear these in France, I guess.”

She looked around him at her reflection in her vanity, and laughed when she saw her face. As she took it off her head, Mike said “I guess I’ll tell Max you like it.”

El nodded. “I will tell her when I talk to her tomorrow.”

Mike smiled. “So? We’ve got a little time before dinner. What do you want to do?”

Over the next half hour they talked, with El telling Mike about the friends she’d made, watching the parade this morning, and giving him more details about the town of Bloomington, IN. From time to time they would shift positions; starting off facing each other, then El leaning against him, then back so they were across from each other once more. They ended the half hour looking at magazines, while Mike tried to build up his courage to say what he wanted to say. Finally, he decided to give it a go.

“Um...El?” he asked, nervously fidgeting with his fingers.

She looked up from her magazine. “Yes?”

“Can I talk to you about something?”

She nodded, closing her reading material.

Mike sighed. “So...I’ve been trying to tell you something. For, like, a while now.”

“Okay.”

“And, um...I guess I’ve just been too scared to say it, you know? But I don’t…” He shook his head. “I honestly don’t know why.”

El frowned in confusion. “Mike?”

“Sorry,” he said, becoming frustrated with himself. “I’m just..sometimes when I get around you, El, I get...tongue tied, you know?”

“Tongue tied?”

“Yeah, like...I can’t find the right words, which is funny, because I _know_ the words, I’m trying to say them, but sometimes when I’m with you, I just...get nervous.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“No,” he said, smiling as he took both of her hands in his. “It’s not your fault. It’s me. You’re...great, El. And I…” He sighed. “I wanted to say to you, that I l…”

“Hey,” Will said, opening the door. Both Mike and El’s heads swiveled towards him, with Mike trying to say with his eyes _Not. Now_.

Not getting it, Will asked, “You guys want to play D & D? I set the board up in the family room.”

“Uh…” Mike began.

“Sure,” El said, letting go of Mike’s hands and standing up. She walked out of the room. As she passed Will, he looked to Mike, who let out a sigh of frustration and flopped onto his back.

_Yesterday-_

_Mike sat atop the hill, next to Cerebro, awaiting El’s call. They both knew they’d be seeing each other tomorrow, but neither one could help it; they loved talking to each other._

_Love, Mike thought to himself. There’s that word again._

_He knew, without a doubt, that he loved El. But for some reason he didn’t understand, he wasn’t able to *say* it to her. He’d tried, once, in Big Buy when they were trying to patch up her leg. And then, when she’d said it to him, he...well, he froze, is what he did._

_Why is it so hard? He thought to himself. He knew El loved him, and he loved her. It shouldn’t be difficult, but for some reason his mouth couldn’t form those words._

_He kept waiting for El to bring it up, to ask him to say it, but she hadn’t done so. In fact, she hadn’t said it since the day she’d moved away. Was she mad that he’d never told her? Or worse, would she talk to Max about it, and then be advised to dump him again? He didn’t know if he could go through that._

_The radio crackled, and a second later he heard her voice, saying “Mike?” Static, then “Mike? Do you copy?”_

_He picked up the receiver. “Yeah, El, I copy.”_

_“Hi,” she breathed into the walkie._

_“Hi. How are you?”_

_“Good,” she answered._

_“How was school?”_

_“Okay. I’m glad we don’t have to go back for a few days.”_

_“Yeah, me too.”_

_“Are you still coming tomorrow?”_

_“Yeah, of course,” he said. “I’ve already got my alarm clock set.”_

_“Still at one zero….” she paused, and Mike knew she was mentally correcting herself. Despite the tremendous progress El had made with the English language, she still slipped from time to time. “One o’clock?”_

_“If everything goes right, yeah,” Mike said. “Nancy brought a pie, do you know if we should bring anything else?”_

_“Um, I don’t think so. Joyce has already started cooking for tomorrow.”_

_“She’s not serving peas, is she?” he joked._

_El laughed on her end. “No.”_

_“Is there anything *you* want me to bring? Anything you want?”_

_“Just you,” she answered, which got Mike blushing._

_“I just really want to see you, El,” he said. “What do you want to do while I’m there?”_

_“Um...we can watch some movies,” she answered. “And watch the parade.”_

_“The parade might be over by the time I get there, but yeah, we can definitely watch it if it’s on. I’ll bring some games, or we can play one of Will’s games.”_

_“I’d like that.”_

_He laughed. “Max, Lucas, and Dustin are all jealous because I get to come see you guys tomorrow.”_

_“Christmas,” she said._

_“Right. At Christmas we can all see each other again.”_

_They talked for a few more minutes until it was time for them both to go. Mike tried to mentally prepare himself for what he wanted to say next._

_“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said right before they were about to sign off._

_“Yeah, tomorrow. Hey, uh, El?” he asked, hoping she hadn’t turned her radio off yet._

_“Yes?”_

_“I, um...I want to say something.”_

_“Okay.”_

_He took a deep breath. “I wanted to tell you that I, um...I…”_

_“Dude!” he heard. Looking up, he saw Dustin walking towards him, a pained expression on his face._

_“Dustin, what’re you doing here?” Mike asked._

_“Did you seriously not hear me say at lunch I was going to call Suzie today?” Dustin asked._

_“Hold on,” Mike said, “I’m still talking to El.”_

_“Fine,” Dustin said, plopping down next to Mike._

_Mike looked at him. “Um...a little privacy?”_

_Dustin rolled his eyes, standing up and putting a few feet between he and Mike. Mike picked the walkie back up. “El? You there?”_

_Static, then “Yes, Mike.”_

_“Oh. Hey. Sorry, Dustin showed up. Um...I was gonna tell you that…” And, once again, he felt his courage begin to ebb away. Then he thought, maybe it’d be better to tell her in person. Would that be more romantic? “I was just gonna say that tomorrow’s gonna be fun.”_

_“Me too, Mike. Tomorrow?”_

_“Tomorrow,” he repeated. “Goodnight, El.”_

_He clicked off and stood up, picking up his backpack as Dustin made his way back. Tomorrow, he told himself. Tomorrow I’ll say it._

Mike, Will, and El played Dungeons & Dragons for a little more than an hour before dinner was finally ready. The Byers, Wheelers, and El then sat at the table, eating and discussing things they were thankful for.

For Joyce, it was that her family was safe.

For Will, it was that he was with his family and friends.

Jonathan was thankful for his family and girlfriend.

Nancy said for Mrs. Byers having them, and that she got to see Jonathan.

El was thankful for her new family, and for Mike getting to come see her.

Finally, Mike said thanks that he got to see everyone.

The meal was delicious; Mike had always preferred his mother’s cooking to Mrs. Byers’, but her macaroni dish was better than he thought it’d be. After the meal, the pecan pie was quickly devoured, with El using probably too much whipped cream on her slice.

When dinner was over, Jonathan and Nancy helped clear the table before disappearing into his room together. That left Mike, Will, and El to take care of the dishes and put the food away. El put the food into multiple Tupperware bins while Will washed and Mike dried.

With the dishes finished, they joined Joyce on the couch, watching a movie. Mike and El shared a chair, with El snuggled against Mike while Will tried not to roll his eyes. Joyce was happy that she got to see El in such a good mood again.

However, a little before eight o’clock, Nancy emerged from Jonathan’s room (clothes and hair looking a little disheveled but no one commented on it) and told Mike that they’d have to leave soon.

He looked down at the frowning girl who was resting on his chest, and decided that if there was ever a time, this was it. “Ten more minutes?” he asked Nancy.

She nodded, then went back to join Jonathan. Mike turned to El. “Can we talk?” he asked her quietly. “In your room?”

El nodded and reluctantly stood up, taking Mike’s hand again as they went to her bedroom.

Mike closed the door behind them, and when he turned to El, he was upset to see that she already had tears in her eyes. “El,” he said, reaching for her.

She nestled on his chest once more, and sniffled. “I don’t want you to go,” she told him.

“I know. But at least it’ll only be a month, right? And we can still use Cerebro, although it’s gonna get cold pretty soon, so I don’t know how often I’ll be on it, or if Dustin’s going to take it down.”

“We could use the phone,” she said, pulling away some. 

“Yeah,” Mike said, nodding.

She smiled at him, then took his face in her hands before she kissed him; an action Mike was more than happy to return.

They parted after a moment, with their foreheads resting against each other. He smiled at her, at the closeness, and she smiled shyly back.

“Mike?” she asked after a moment.

“Yeah, El?”

“Before...before Will came in. You were saying something.” She pulled away a little. “What was it?”

“Oh, _that_ ,” he said, remembering the reason they’d returned to her room in the first place. Looking into her eyes, he said “I was trying to tell you how I feel, you know? How I’ve felt for a long time, really. I was trying to tell you that…” He smiled at her as he took a deep breath. “That I love you.”

She smiled, tears returning to her eyes as she cupped his face. “I love you too,” she said, before leaning up and kissing him once more.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before,” he said. “I just...sometimes get…”

“Tongue tied,” she reminded him.

“Right. But not anymore.”

“I heard you,” she said. “I heard you say it to Max that day.”

“Yeah,” he said, remembering his argument. “That wasn’t the way it was supposed to happen.”

“And then in the store…”

“Yeah, I’m not exactly proud of that.”

She giggled, then leaned up and kissed him again.

A few minutes later Nancy came to the door, letting Mike know it was time to go. Mike gathered his things and the two Wheelers made their way to the front room, ready to leave. Hugs were given, as well as promises to see each other at Christmas. 

After saying goodbye to Will, Mike turned back to El. They hugged each other tightly, knowing that it would be the last one they’d get until the end of December.

“Tomorrow, five o’clock?” Mike asked, referring to the time he would call her.

“Five o’clock,” she said back.

Reluctantly parting, El smiled up at him. “I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you,” he said back, cupping her cheek and kissing her once more.

Mike wasn’t ready to leave her, but knew he didn’t have much of a choice. So after one more goodbye to both El and Will, he got into the car with Nancy.

“You alright?” she asked him after starting the ignition.

“Yeah,” he answered. “I’m okay.” He glanced once more at the Byers home before Nancy put the car into drive.

“You’ll see her at Christmas,” Nancy said as they headed back to the main road.

“I know,” he said, smiling to himself. He already couldn’t wait.


End file.
